French toast with strawberries shown from the Sunday brunch at The Blind Rooster Kitchen & Bar, the new restaurant in the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee.(Photo: The Blind Rooster Kitchen & Bar Facebook)

MOSINEE – After seven years, the Central Wisconsin Airport is again home to a restaurant. The Blind Rooster Kitchen & Bar opened last week.

Bringing a restaurant to the Mosinee airport was something that CWA manager Brian Grefe was tasked with when he was hired three years ago.

"It took a while but we got it done and I think this is the perfect arrangement," Grefe said. "I was asked a few times a week since I've been here when (a restaurant) would be back in here."

Among the staples of the restaurant will be a Friday fish fry and a Sunday brunch buffet each week.

"It took us a long time to get the recipe right for the fish fry with the beer batter and the haddock, but we are just really excited to have it down now," manager Christine Roumanidakis said. "We can't thank everyone involved enough and the support that we have received."

Sara Guild, vice chair of the CWA board, said an airport restaurant is something Mosinee residents have been craving for a while.

"There is a lot of pent-up energy for the community wanting this," Guild said during the restaurant's grand opening Friday. "There are so many people asking about our fish fry and everything else."

The menu includes everything from salads to burgers to sandwiches. The nachos grande is loaded with beef or chicken, smothered in nacho cheese with tomatoes, jalapenos, green peppers and onions. Appetizers include buffalo fries and, since it's Wisconsin, cheese curds.

A sign for the new restaurant as guests walk up the steps to the second floor terminal to the restaurant inside Central Wisconsin Airport.(Photo: Mitchell A. Skurzewski/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

There is a large events center that will be used for extra seating and for businesses to have meetings. The floor and bar feature hardwood for a rustic look. There is a very large open window for people to watch planes flying in and out of the airport in the restaurant and a full bar.

There are seating tables as well as high-top tables along the windows.

"This is a game-changer for the airport," said Mike Reilly, president of Oak Wells, which owns and operates food and beverage spots in airports throughout North America.

The restaurant is open to both travelers and anyone in the community. It's located in the second-floor terminal, before security, and there is a free three-hour parking area for restaurant guests.

Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday for brunch. The restaurant is closed on Saturday.

Ticketed airport travelers also can visit The Blind Rooster Cafe & Market, which was remodeled as well. This portion has a lot of the same menu items, including sandwiches. The restaurant also plans to launch a curbside-to-go pickup option in the near future, Reilly said.